Herzl’s Evangelical Prophet William Hechler 64 Dancing to Bar Yohai’s Tomb March 2023 Controversy on Mount Meron THE JEWISH HISTORY MAGAZINE March 2023 | Nisan 5783 | 3,336 from Exodus | Issue 64 NIS 69 Nis an 5783 3336 from Exo dus Next Year in Jerusalem? American Jewish Taboo WHO INVITED ELIJAH? A Brief History of Christian Zionists Elijah in th e Ha gga dah | Next Ye ar in Jer us alem | William He chler | Meron Pilgrim a ge SURPRISE SEDER GUEST Plug in to Jewish history quarterly An issue for every Jewish holiday From Stone Age to our own age Covering Jewish destinations world-wide Send us your prospective subscriber’s contact information, and we’ll do the rest. E-mail or message: service@segulamag.com | 058-541-6146 * Applicable only when the person you recommend subscribes * Each subscription purchased on your recommendation increases your discount * If more than one person recommends the same subscriber, the discount goes to the first to recommend him/her At a Gla nc e e he s re t d their a o Wh ers an y? t r h un qu ar r on we Ans p. 37 42 The Unspoken Taboo At the end of the Seder, early American Jews squirmed. Did they really dream of “Next year in Jerusalem,” or were they loyal subjects of the land of the free? A hundred years of U.S. haggadot Contents | Issue 64 Jon ath an D. S arn a 56 Dancing to Bar Yohai’s Tomb 14 Evangelical Prophet of Zion Even before Herzl dreamed of a Jewish state, Evangelical minister William Hechler was meeting with pioneering Zionists in Odessa. Calculating that redemption would begin in 1897, the same year as the first Zionist Congress, Hechler lent a hand by arranging an audience for Herzl with Kaiser Wilhelm II. Who was the Zionist visionary’s Christian sidekick, and what were his motives? Ye h u d a M o r a l y Since the Middle Ages, Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai’s grave on Mount Meron has attracted pilgrims – not necessarily with official approval. Subversive by nature, the Lag Ba-Omer celebrations marking the sage’s passing have sometimes exacted a terrible price Dot an Goren Columns Editor’s Letter Snapshots This Month in History Nisan A Brief History of Christian Zionists Tale of a Trail Heletz Portrait of a People Friedl Dicker-Brandeis What’s Next . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Waiting for Elijah Though mentioned nowhere in the haggadah, Elijah the prophet has his own cup at the Seder, we open the door for him, and he appears in many illustrated haggadot. How did Elijah become part of Passover? Medieval haggadot and responsa hold the key Chana Shacham-Ro s by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover caption: Not Elijah, but inspired by the spirit of the Hebrew prophets. William Hechler in Arab dress while visiting the land of Israel Photo: Imagno/Getty Images 4 Nisan 5783_March 2023 3 6 10 12 68 74 75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Declaration of Independence First Crusade 1000 1100 1500 1700 Crimean War Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor 1900 1800 2000 42 Next Year in Jerusaem 56 Meron Pilgrimage 14 William Hechler 68 Tale of a Trail 28 Elijah in the Hagaddah Customer Service and Subscriptions Tel. +972-2-500-4351 segula@segulamag.com E-mail: service@segulamag.com Tel: +972-58-541-6146, Sun.–Wed., 9 am–2 pm, or leave a text message. We’ll get back to you within 48 hours FOLLOW US Editorial and Advertising G SU G IVE A B S IF T CR IPT ION SUBSCRIBE NOW For registration and information 058-5416146 service@segulamag.com Segula_The Jewish Journey through History 5 Elijah in the Haggadah Waiting for Elijah When the Pesach Seder took shape almost two thousand years ago, it made no mention of Elijah the Prophet. How did the biblical zealot find his way into the haggadah? Medieval Ashkenazic traditions may hold the key | Chana Shacham-Rosby 28 Nisan 5783_March 2023 Elijah in the Haggadah T he bare bones of the Seder are outlined in the Mishna, in the tenth chapter of tractate Pesahim, dating from roughly the third century. There’s not a trace of Elijah the Prophet anywhere in that description. The first time he appears as the guest of honor at these proceedings is in haggadot from 15th-century Germany. Three customs announce the prophet’s arrival at the Seder, each of which developed separately: pouring him a cup of wine (in addition to the four drunk by all participants), opening the door, and reciting a series of biblical verses beginning with “Pour out Your wrath upon the nations” (Psalms 79:6). In the late Middle Ages, these three independent practices coalesced around Elijah as the herald of the Messiah, emphasizing the evening’s heightened expectation of redemption. All three were performed immediately following the Grace after Meals, before continuing the reading of Hallel (more psalms) and the conclusion of the Seder. The meal essentially divides the Seder in two. Before dinner we Heavenly hands pour wrathful flames down on the armies of the nations as the Messiah rides past on his donkey. Second Darmstadt Haggadah, 15th century, northern Italy Courtesy of Darmstadt University Library, Ursula and Kurt Schubert Archive at the Center for Jewish Art focus on the exodus from Egypt, i.e., on the past, while afterward we allude to the future redemption. Elijah is integral to that salvation, as the biblical book of Malachi tasks him with announcing the Messiah’s arrival: Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. (Malachi 3:23–24) Since the Middle Ages, Ashkenazic communities have chanted this chapter of Malachi as the weekly selection from the prophets on the Sabbath before Pesach. That Sabbath was known as the “Great Sabbath” well before the custom of reading about the “great and dreadful day of the Lord” became entrenched. Nevertheless, the two traditions together likely reinforced the connection between Elijah and Passover. Night of Watching The practice of opening the door midway through the Seder apparently dates from the Geonic period (circa 600–1000). The most common medieval explanation ties the custom to the protective nature of this night: It is a night of watching for the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:42) The Talmud attributes special qualities to the anniversary of Israel’s exodus throughout history: Segula_The Jewish Journey through History 29 Elijah in the Haggadah R. Joshua says: In Nisan they were delivered, in Nisan they will be delivered in the time to come. Whence do we know this? Scripture calls [the first night of Passover] ‘a night of watchings’ [shimurim, plural], [meaning] a night continuously watched for from the six days of creation [and] a night under constant protection against evil spirits. (Rosh Ha-shana 11b, Soncino translation) The month of Nisan, and Seder night in particular, is thus seen as an auspicious time for redemption. Talmudic homilies and liturgical hymns feature other examples of deliverance occurring on this night, sometimes followed by expectations of impending salvation. In fact, an entire genre of liturgical poetry is dedicated to this “night of watching,” with two of these compositions included in the Ashkenazic version of the haggadah: “And So It Came to Pass at Midnight” (Va-yehi Ba-hatzi Ha-laila), by the poet Yanai, who lived in the sixth century in the land of Israel, and “And You Shall Say: This Is the Passover Sacrifice” (Ve-amartem Zevah Pesah) by his pupil Rabbi Eleazar Ha-kalir. 30 Nisan 5783_March 2023 In his 13th-century work Or Zarua, Rabbi Yitzhak ben Moshe of Vienna links the custom of opening the door to the idea of Seder night as a time of enhanced protection: Rabbi Nissim Gaon [11th century, Kairouan, Tunisia] wrote in his father’s name that house doors are not to be locked on the [first two] nights of Passover [to demonstrate our] belief in God’s word and promise, that in recompense for that faith we might merit deliverance […]. Thus you find that our forefathers in Egypt were redeemed only as a reward for their faith. As it says, “And the people believed” (Exodus 4:31). So too, in the future the exiles will be gathered in as a reward for [our] faith. (Or Zarua [Mekhon Yerushalayim], vol. 2, p. 298) Opening the door therefore expresses faith in Heavenly protection and willingness to act in order to merit divine deliverance. It also recalls the biblical command to the Israelites in Egypt to eat the Paschal lamb with their loins girded and their bags packed, ready to depart: Just as hound leads hunter, Elijah precedes the Messiah, blowing his horn and calling Israel to follow him to Jerusalem, symbolized by an open door. Tegernsee Haggadah, Germany, 15th century Courtesy of the Bavarian State Museum, Munich Elijah in the Haggadah And thus you shall eat it: with a belt around your waist, sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. (Exodus 12:11) Beyond the Open Door The next stage in the Elijah odyssey connects the opening of the door to the Messiah’s arrival. The 13th-century pietist Rabbi Eleazar of Worms wrote in his Ma’aseh Roke’ah: I found [written] in a hidden scroll […] that the doors of the home in which we sit should not be closed at all […], and so is our custom to this day; the doors of the home are open, so when Elijah comes we shall come out to greet him swiftly, without delay. (Ma’aseh Roke’ah, p. 19) The author then quoted the aforementioned opinion of Rabbenu Nissim that the faith symbolized by the open door would merit national redemption. Rather than expecting Elijah to enter through that door, those attending the Seder hoped to exit by it upon hearing the prophet announce the approach of the Messiah. Traversing western Europe in the late 12th century, Rabbi Avraham ben Natan Ha-yarhi recorded this custom along with that of leaving bedroom doors unlocked all that night. Opening the door midway through the Seder expresses faith in God’s protection as well as readiness to act in order to merit deliverance Originally, the entrance to the house was left open all night to symbolize the safety of God’s “night of watching.” Second Darmstadt Haggadah Courtesy of Darmstadt University Library, Ursula and Kurt Schubert Archive at the Center for Jewish Art left unlocked all Seder night long in these Diaspora communities. By the end of the Middle Ages, however, the rite was reduced to opening the door for a few minutes. Rabbi Moshe Isserles, author of the Ashkenazic gloss on the Shulhan Arukh (the classic code of Jewish law), quoted Rabbi Israel of Bruna, who led the Jewish community in Regensburg, Bavaria, in the mid-15th century: Open and Shut The sources above imply that the main door to the home was Segula_The Jewish Journey through History 31 Elijah in the Haggadah [He] wrote that the door should be opened when [the verse] “Pour out Your wrath” is recited, since the Or Zarua teaches that on the [first] night of Pesach the front doors of houses shouldn’t be locked, it being a night of watching. This [shows] trust in the Holy One Blessed Be He and His promise, in the merit of [which] we will be redeemed. For this reason the door is opened at “Pour out,” meaning that through this [act] the Messiah should come. (Moshe Isserles, Darkei Moshe on Tur, Orah Hayyim, Laws of Pesach 480) 32 Nisan 5783_March 2023 The Messiah blows a hunter’s horn while Elijah pronounces the verse “Say to the daughter of Zion: behold, your salvation comes” (Isaiah 62:11). Haggadah text of “Pour out Your wrath” from the Hamburg Miscellany, Germany, 1434 Courtesy of Hamburg University Library This truncated “open-door policy” may have stemmed from Jews’ growing insecurity in Europe. Their lost confidence belied the custom’s expression of faith in divine protection. The quiet and safety of the “night of watching” was no longer; leaving a door unlocked all night had become dangerous. But rather than abandon the practice altogether, European Jews opened the door only briefly. Yet why do so while asking God to pour out His wrath upon the nations? Perhaps the idea was to ensure that no informant was listening at the keyhole. Alternatively, the timing demonstrated that Pesach night remained a time of God’s protection. Though fear of blood libels and other threats kept Jewish doors locked during Pesach, the Jews of Europe could at least open them a crack – whether to show faith despite the dangers, or to avert them. Elijah in the Haggadah Pour Out Your Wrath The collection of verses beginning with “Pour out Your wrath” is drawn from various passages beseeching God to punish and even destroy the nations for both rejecting Him and persecuting Israel. This section of the haggadah was added in the early 12th century, probably as a result of the vicious pogroms that targeted Jews during the First Crusade of 1096. Originally, the verses chosen varied among communities. In his Etz Hayyim, a code of ritual written in England in 1287 (just three years before the Jews were expelled by Edward I), Rabbi Jacob Hazzan of London included seventeen. Today that number has generally settled on four: Pour out Your wrath upon the nations that knew You not and upon the kingdoms that called not upon Your Name! For they have consumed Jacob and laid waste his habitation (Psalms 79:6–7). Seder participants may have traditionally opened the door not to welcome Elijah in but to step out and greet the Messiah Our custom is to open the door so as to remember that this is a “night of watching,” and in the merit of that faith the Messiah will come and pour out his anger upon the nations. And [this practice is] also to Stand-in for Elijah. A dog greets the Messiah on his steed. Illustration for “Pour out Your wrath,” folio 17v of the Parma Haggada, Italy, late 15th century Library of Congress Collection Pour out Your fury upon them, and may Your burning anger overtake them (ibid. 69:25)! Pursue them in wrath, and destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord (Lamentations 3:66). Outrage at Christian and particularly ecclesiastical persecution constituted a key element of medieval Jewish identity, as did a hope of salvation and retribution. Rabbi Moshe Met’s 16th-century work of Jewish law, first printed in Kraków, connects the contents of the verses under discussion with the opening of the front door: Segula_The Jewish Journey through History 33 Elijah in the Haggadah “Pour out Your wrath” was added to the haggadah in the early 12th century, probably in response to the vicious pogroms of the First Crusade demonstrate our belief in the coming of the Messiah, that we await and hope and expect his arrival despite his delay. In the merit of all this, may the Lord hasten our redemption and pour out His wrath upon the nations. (Mateh Moshe 655) From the 15th century onward, many haggadot illustrated the “Pour out Your wrath” passage. The second edition of the Darmstadt Haggadah, for example, depicts heavenly hands pouring flames onto the heads of the nations. Cup of Redemption The Seder custom of pouring a cup of wine for Elijah is quite late, and its origins are obscure. In the early 1900s, the practice was traced to a Talmudic argument appearing in certain manuscripts of tractate Pesahim (118a), citing an opinion that a fifth cup should be added to the Seder’s accepted four. Traditionally, unresolved halakhic disagreements are left for Elijah to sort out upon his eventual return to earth; until then, 34 Nisan 5783_March 2023 in our case, we compromise by pouring a fifth cup but not drinking it. However, the first sources to mention this fifth cup don’t cite this Talmudic principle at all. Presumably, then, the fifth cup was another expression of the messianic longing that infuses so much of the Seder. A Tosafist Bible commentary from the 12th or 13th century explains the stages of redemption symbolized in the cups of wine: Four cups for four [expressions of] deliverance: “I shall take [you] out […], I shall save […], I shall redeem […]. And I shall take [you unto Myself]” (Exodus 6:6–7). The fifth cup, according to those who require it, is for [the expression] “I shall bring [you to the land]” (v. 8), since that too is an aspect of redemption. (Da’at Zekenim [Leghorn, 5543], p. 34a) The fifth cup of wine is associated with the act of bringing the Children of Israel into the Holy Land, but this cup came to represent not past but future. Still in the throes of exile, caught between past and future redemptions, Jews in medieval Europe poured the fifth cup but didn’t drink it. To them, the full cup of wine on the table symbolized the deliverance yet to come. In her research on Elijah’s cup, Dr. Tal Goiten proposes that ritual cups gained significance in 15th-century Germany following changes made to the Catholic mass by the Hussite movement. Based on the teaching of Czech theologian Jan Hus, all those attending mass would partake of the consecrated cup of wine symbolizing the blood of Jesus – a privilege heretofore prominent reminder of the anticipated deliverance from exile. Elijah’s Cup The earliest mention of a cup being poured specifically for Elijah the Prophet is a passing reference by 15th-century German rabbi Aaron Halevi Zion (known as Zelikman of Binga) in his commentary on Pesahim: I have seen some people on Passover night who pour a special cup, place it on the table, and proclaim it the cup of Elijah the Prophet, and I do not know where this explanation comes from. It would seem that the reason is as follows: Should Elijah come on Passover night, as we hope and anticipate […], he too requires a cup – for even the poorest among Israel may not drink fewer than four cups [on this night]. (Innovations, Explanations, and Decisions of Rabbi Zelikman of Binga, p. 195 [Hebrew]) Rabbi Yiftah Yosef (Juspa) Schammes, 17th-century beadle of the Worms Jewish community, wrote similarly: Elijah at the gates of a city, announcing the arrival of the Messiah on his white horse. Washington Haggadah, Italy, 1478 Library of Congress Collection reserved for priests. The cup became the emblem of the Hussite movement, appearing on its standard together with the words Veritas vincit, “Truth shall prevail.” Many Jews perceived the Hussite reforms hopefully, as signifying apocalyptic shifts in the Church and therefore indicating the approaching redemption of Israel. Thus, Goiten maintains, the connotations of the goblet of wine on the Seder table were amplified, and it served as a more Whoever washes the cups [should wash] one more than the number of those seated, because [we] recite, “Whoever is hungry, let him come and eat,” and therefore he should prepare one cup for any guest who enters. That cup is called the cup of Elijah the Prophet, for he is the guest we await. (Juspa the Beadle, Customs of the Holy Congregation of Worms, vol. 1, pp. 85–86 [Hebrew]) Juspa then explained why Elijah appears in the haggadah’s illustrations, or perhaps > > Segula_The Jewish Journey through History 35 Elijah in the Haggadah Watchdog of Israel Courtesy of th e Cindy and Da vid Sofer Colle ction, London The connection between Elijah and canines begins in the Talmud: “Our rabbis taught: When dogs howl, [it’s a sign that] the Angel of Death has come to town. But when dogs frolic, [it’s a sign that] Elijah the Prophet has come to town” (Bava Kamma 60b, Soncino translation). This teaching is cited by several Ashkenazic commentaries on Exodus 11:7: “But against any of the children of Israel no dog shall move his tongue.” The canine silence promised in this verse as the Israelites left Egypt was miraculous, these Fig. 4. The Second Nurem lection, Londo berg Hagga dah (ca. n. commentators explain. Though the Angel of Death was present to slay the Egyptian firstborn, the dogs resisted their natural urge to bark. Furthermore, this unnatural quiet hints at the final redemption, when the nations too will be “silenced,” no longer able to harm the Jews. Similarly, in their glosses on the Talmudic passage mentioned above, scholars understood the dogs to symbolize gentiles who attack Jews. Dogs had symbolic significance in Christian theology as well. On the one hand, these creatures stood for intelligence and Opening the door for the loyalty; on the other, they were associated Messiah. Illustration from with filth, defilement, and savagery. Dogs the Second Nuremberg often appeared in art, particularly in hunting Haggadah, folio 29v 36 Nisan 5783_March 2023 scenes, in the positive sense. Yet the negative connotation became an anti-Jewish trope, referencing the verse “As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly” (Proverbs 26:11). Just as dogs return to their vomit, the Jews remain loyal to the Old Testament, rejecting Jesus. Jewish manuscripts also depict hunting for sport, but the hunted animal usually symbolizes the Jew persecuted in exile, while the hunter and his dogs represent the gentiles. This motif is especially prevalent in haggadot. For instance, illustrations in the Second Nuremberg Haggadah and the Yahuda Haggadah (both circa 1465–70) show Esau holding a bow and horn as his hounds chase a doe. Here the dogs signify Christians, helping Esau (personifying Christendom) pursue hapless Israel. In contrast, Jews occasionally incorporated canine virtues into their literary and visual culture. For example, in a prayer book produced in Germany in the mid-15th century, an image of a dog symbolizes Moses’ fealty in transmitting God’s word to Israel. In illustrating “Pour out Your wrath upon the nations,” several medieval haggadot include a dog symbolizing Elijah, sometimes alongside the Messiah. Casting the prophet as the guard dog of Israel reflects a sophisticated Elijah in the Haggadah Courtesy of the British Museum manipulation of both positive and negative canine symbolism. Elijah aptly embodies canine fidelity and ferocity. The central features of his character in I and II Kings are his loyalty to God and zealous defense of His name and law. In postbiblical tradition, Elijah also protects the Jews, God’s flock. In addition, the prophet’s role of heralding redemption draws on yet another aspect of the canine symbol. Scholars have noted the influence of hunting scenes on illustrations of the messianic procession. Just as the hunter is typically seated on horseback with his dog running before him, the Messiah is portrayed riding a white horse with Elijah blowing the shofar before him. Medieval and early modern esoteric rabbis noted that Elijah’s name in Hebrew shares the same numerical value as the Hebrew words for son (ben) and dog (kelev), each adding up to fifty-two. Elijah is thus the “good son” and “good dog” who overpowers the Christians’ “bad son” (Jesus) and “bad dog.” As the watchdog of Israel, Elijah doesn’t just wait until the End of Days to rescue the Jews and avenge their suffering. The amplification of his role in the Seder – even at the expense of the Messiah himself – expresses the desire that he appear now and stand up to those hounding the Jewish people. While impatiently anticipating the Messiah’s arrival and triumph over the nations, the Jews of medieval Ashkenaz needed to know God was continuously watching over them – enlisting the canine form of Elijah, liaison between heaven and earth. Hunters and dogs representing the nations pursue a doe, personification of Israel, in an illuminated 14thcentury festival prayerbook Segula_The Jewish Journey through History 37 Elijah in the Haggadah Like everyone else at the Seder, Elijah deserves his own cup of wine if he should come through the open door. The fourth cup in the Washington Haggadah Library of Congress Collection > > > in other pictures set aside for use on Seder night: Before beginning [to recite] “Pour out,” the door is opened, and Elijah and the Messiah are welcomed, because wherever the name of Elijah is mentioned, the evil spirits flee. That’s why it’s customary in certain places to draw the Messiah and Elijah, so the children who see the picture will pronounce Elijah’s name and put the evil spirits to flight. (ibid., p. 87) 38 Nisan 5783_March 2023 The idea that Elijah banishes evil spirits brings us back to Seder night as a time of “watching,” but with the prophet rather than God protecting Israel. (Amulets bearing his name were likewise placed beside birthing women and their newborns to ward off the demon Lilith.) These three elements – the open door, the reading of “Pour out Your wrath,” and the untouched cup of wine – appear in illuminated haggadot from Germany and Elijah in the Haggadah northern Italy from around 1430 onward. This motif coincides with the testimonies quoted above linking all three to Elijah the Prophet. Some fifteen manuscript haggadot and incunabula include illustrations of the Messiah’s arrival and the beginning of Israel’s final redemption. Most of these feature an open door and a cup of wine, and some also show Elijah walking before the Messiah. Sometimes the prophet blows a ram’s horn to announce this long-awaited event, and sometimes he’s depicted as a dog faithfully guarding Israel. (See “Watchdog of Israel,” pp. 36–37.) Why Elijah? Why this focus on Elijah, harbinger of the Messiah, and not on the Messiah himself? Very possibly, the tradition of Elijah’s presence has been transferred from the circumcision ceremony on the eighth day of a baby boy’s life. Circumcision and Pesach are closely linked in Jewish law. An uncircumcised male is forbidden to partake of the Passover sacrifice, and a verse from the book of Ezekiel is pronounced during both the Seder and circumcision: “I said to you: ‘Live in spite of your blood’; yea, I said to you: ‘Live in spite of your blood’ ” (Ezekiel 16:6). According to the sages, the repetition in this quotation refers to two types of blood: that of circumcision and that of the Paschal lamb. A related interpretation appears in the Jerusalem Targum (a biblical translation and commentary written in the seventh or eighth century and also known as the Pseudo-Jonathan Targum). Regarding the relevant verses in Exodus 12, the Targum states that in preparation for the night God smote the Egyptian firstborn but passed over the houses of the Israelites, the Hebrews marked their homes by smearing both types of blood on their doorposts. Observance of these two commandments, circumcision and the Passover offering, is said to guarantee the Jewish people’s survival and salvation. For medieval European Jews, Elijah’s zealous efforts to restore Israel’s faith in God were deeply connected to their own selfsacrifice for Jewish tradition despite constant Christian pressure to abandon it. In their view, Caught between past and future redemptions, Jews in medieval Europe poured a fifth cup but didn’t drink it, as it symbolized the redemption to come their meticulous observance of the Seder – including opening the front door despite the risk and showing themselves ready to set out after the Messiah – proved them worthy of redemption. Yet the Messiah was part of some distant future far removed from their own reality. Elijah, however, shuttling between this world and the next, an unseen witness at every circumcision ceremony, was more familiar. Not confined to merely heralding Segula_The Jewish Journey through History 39 Elijah in the Haggadah As witness to Israel's faithfulness to God, Elijah must be present whenever Jews fulfill His covenant's twin commandments – circumcision and Pesach the Messiah’s arrival, the prophet was invoked whenever help mysteriously arrived to rescue Jews. In the early modern period, multiple Jewish folk tales revolved around Elijah’s appearance on Pesach to bring respite to individuals or groups. Meanwhile, the tradition of his attendance at the Seder expanded from Germany to other communities. In the 17th century, it became customary for one Seder participant to masquerade as Elijah and step into the house when the door was opened: Especially good and praiseworthy is the custom of performing some act to perpetuate the memory of the Messiah, such as someone popping in through the door when [recitation of] “Pour out” commences, demonstrating that on the night of our first redemption, our faith in our final redemption remains strong. (Joseph Yuspa Nördlinger Hahn, Yosif Ometz [Frankfurt, 1723], sec. 788) 40 Nisan 5783_March 2023 It has been suggested that the character of Elijah grew even more tangible amid the traumas of Bogdan Khmelnitsky’s Cossack uprising and pogroms in the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth in 1648. At the same time, the Sabbatean heresy as well as the spread of Lurianic Kabbala intensified messianic expectations. Even today, some set a place at the Seder table for the prophet, just as a chair is reserved for him at circumcisions (and in the sukka). The practice of pouring a fifth cup of wine for Elijah extended beyond Ashkenazic communities, as evident from a responsum by Rabbi Moshe Hagiz (1671–1750, Jerusalem), whose family came to the land of Israel from Morocco. Jews from many diasporas coexisted in 18th-century Jerusalem, and the rabbi was asked by a puzzled observer to explain the Italian and German Jewish custom of pouring this cup, “which seems a foreign matter among Israel without root or branch, for who has ever mentioned the name of Elijah in connection with Seder night?” (Rabbi Moshe Hagiz, Shtei Ha-lehem [1898], p. 100). Rabbi Hagiz responded: Preparing a cup for Elijah, may his name be a blessing, is something both deeply rooted and widespread. Surely you have heard by now why a seat is set aside for Elijah at the time of circumcision, and why he is called Elijah messenger of the covenant – namely, this is his due, since the same mouth that transgressed by accusing Israel of betraying [God’s] covenant should also be the mouth that affirms and testifies in defense of Israel, witnessing firsthand that Israel is upholding the covenant. [He should] pronounce the Elijah in the Haggadah praises of Israel and proclaim before the Holy One Blessed Be He that [the Jews] are fulfilling that which they undertook by way of the commandment of Pesach, which is dependent on circumcision. […] Elijah shall surely enter all the houses of Israel to see how [the Jews] fulfill that one commandment which is in fact two – Pesach and circumcision – and [he] will ascend heavenward to recommend the swift redemption and ransom of the soul of every last individual of Israel in the final salvation […]. May it come to pass speedily in our days, Amen. (ibid.) Although he hadn’t grown up with the custom, Rabbi Hagiz instinctively In a 15th-century German liturgical manuscript including the text of the haggadah, a dog representing Elijah, guardian of Israel, peeks through a doorway as a figure opens the door from the outside Courtesy of the Palatina Library, Parma connected the twin commandments of covenant – circumcision and Pesach – with the legend appointing Elijah to witness how the people of Israel remain faithful to God. The harbinger of the Messiah also serves as the loyal defender of Israel in heaven, hastening redemption in the merit of the nation’s deeds. How fitting, then, that Elijah has become an integral part of the Seder, conducted on the night devoted to awaiting Israel’s salvation.  Dr. Chana Shacham-Rosby is a postdoctoral fellow at Bar-Ilan University. Her doctorate in Jewish history focuses on Elijah in the medieval Ashkenazic tradition Segula_The Jewish Journey through History 41 64 THE JE W IS Eli jah in the Ha gga CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS ISSUE! H HIS T O RY M AGA Z I N E Mar ch 2023 | Nisan 578 3 | 3,336 from Herzl’s Evange lical Pro William Hecphet Dancing hler to Bar Controvers Yohai’s Tomb y on Exodus | Issu Mount Mer on e 64 NIS 69 Next in JerusaleYear m? Ameri Jewish can Taboo dah | Ne xt Ye ar SURP SEDERRISE W H O GUEST in Jer us ale m ELIJAINVITED H? | Wi llia m He chl er | Me ron Pil gri A Bri ef His m age tor y of Ch ris tia n Zio nis ts The jewish history magazine